Armenian Genocide monument in Montebello now designated as state historical landmark​on February 22, 2025 at 10:11 pm

For decades, the Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument has stood atop a grassy hill in Montebello; a memorial where members of the Armenian community come to pay their respects to the victims of the Armenian genocide.

Now the monument will be protected permanently, as it’s been added to the list of California state historical landmarks. The announcement was made at a ceremony attended by more than 200 people at the monument on Friday afternoon.

“The Armenian community has been fighting for recognition that there was a genocide,” said state senator Bob Archuleta, who said he’d been working to have the monument designated a historical landmark for the past two years.

“As you know some people say no there wasn’t (a genocide), just like they say with the holocaust. So, this monument that has been here for years is finally going to be recognized.”

More than 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered at the hands of the Turkish government in 1915. The victims include the great grandparents of Pasadena resident Vahe Tchoukadarian, who was the master of ceremonies for the event.

“The genocide wasn’t a one-system way to annihilate a population,” said Tchoukadarian. “There were many different ways through death marches and torturing that forced people to survive.

“The lucky ones did, but most of them didn’t.”

Tchoukadarian comes to the memorial often. He remembers first visiting the monument on a school field trip.

“When we got here, I was astonished at how nice and big it was; as a kid that’s the first think I noticed. And then it kind of (sunk) in, as far as why we were here; who we were commemorating; who we were trying to remember. And I just felt the gravity of the situation.”

With so much development in the area, Tchoukadarian said members of the Armenian community often worried about the future of the monument. But with the designation of it as a historical landmark, that’s no longer a concern.

“There’s always the possibility that monuments could come down, that something could happen. So today is a very significant day, because it safeguards this monument; not just by the people who built it and come here, but by the government.”